Turkey escalates provocations over the Aegean

The Turkish airforce violated Greek national airspace for a total of 66 times on Wednesday on the heels of a barrage of an aggressive display a day before with 65 violations.

Turkey, which is embroiled in conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and its own SE provinces, is clearly excalating provocations against Greece, as the violations continue well into the night.

32 Turkish aircraft, including spy planes and helicopters illegally entered into Greek airspace with 3 instances leading to dog fights between the Turkish and Greek planes in the northeast, central and southeast Aegean Sea. 18 Turkish fighter jets were armed during aerial engagement. 28 of the violations involved the infringement of the Athens FIR.

Greek officers are worried that the shortage of experienced Turkish pilots after the extensive purges of the AK government may cause an accident, as inexperienced or rehired retired pilots may not have the skills to meet the strains of such close quarter, high maneuverability dogfighting.